Resident Evil has to be action-oriented to sell, says Capcom

Resident Evil has slowly moved away from its survival horror roots. This was most obvious in Resident Evil 5, which was more of a third-person shooter and didn't really feature any creepy moments. Speaking to Gamasutra, Capcom's Masachika Kawata, who most recently produced Resident Evil: Revelations, explained the reasoning for this, saying that the market for survival horror games was too small for the series to profit.

"Especially for the North American market, I think the series needs to head in that [action-oriented] direction," stated Kawata. "[Resident Evil's primary games] need to be an extension of the changes made in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5."

While the series certainly retains aspects of its survival horror roots, it's obvious that Capcom has moved away from that style for the most part. This is a strategic move meant to appeal to a wider audience, an audience that's much more appreciative of action games. "Looking at the marketing data [for survival horror games] ... the market is small, compared to the number of units Call of Duty and all those action games sell," said Kawata. "A 'survival horror' Resident Evil doesn't seem like it'd be able to sell those kind of numbers."

In other words, Capcom is continuing its trend of disappointing me. Well, me and plenty others, I'm certain. Kawata went on to say that Resident Evil can always feature survival horror moments that hark back to the older games in the franchise, but it looks like the future isn't looking very scary as far as the series' vibe and mechanics are concerned. Well, that's a damn shame, and that's why I won't be picking up Resident Evil 6 until it hits the budget games section.

David Sanchez
David Sanchez is the most honest man on the internet. You can trust him because he speaks in the third person.